


Vee is for Vanguard

by bandana_pirate



Series: The Lonely Vanguard [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, One Word Prompts, Prompt Fic, Will Contain Spoilers For The Games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-05-17 01:03:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5847823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bandana_pirate/pseuds/bandana_pirate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Join us as we follow Mackenzie Vaughn Summers from the beginning of her Alliance training to after the end of the third game.</p><p>There will be spoilers for the games, you've been warned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. With The Alliance

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter contains all drabbles set prior to the first game.  
> There will be character death, but no one involved in the canon universe.

** Dreamer **

“You’re a natural at this!” Vaughn’s instructor praised, smiling at the young woman who stood maintaining a biotic barrier.

_“Look at our baby! She’s so good at this already,” the mother smiled at her husband as they watched their young daughter pushing objects around the room with her, albeit weak, biotic power._

Vaughn snapped back to the present, her panic levels rising at the unprecedented flashback. The biotics she had had such control over went haywire, zapping all around the room, hitting both objects and other recruits.

Her instructor went to rush to her aid, but was met with a wave of biotic energy from the panicked woman, sending her flying backwards.

_“Just like her mother, huh?” The husband smirked back as the pair began to laugh at their child’s antics._

** Acceptance **

Vaughn quickly seated herself at an empty table, aiming to eat as quickly as possible so she could hide away and train again. This plan was disrupted as a group of noisy soldiers chose to sit down at the same table as her.

“Hey, mind if we sit here?”

Vaughn shook her head at the one who asked, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation.

“Thanks. I’m Vincent, call me Vince though. We’re in the same squad. You’re Mackenzie Summers, right?” he continued to ask questions as he sat opposite her.

“It’s Vaughn. I don’t like Mackenzie,” she corrected.

“Well then, Vaughn, it’s nice to meet you.”

Vaughn assumed that this was the end of the conversation and returned to eating. She was wrong.

“You’re the squad’s biotic, right? That’s pretty cool. What implant have you got?”

Vaughn sighed but answered anyway, “An L4. I’m part of a trial group. If it goes well, they’ll roll them out and I’ll be able to test out the L5s.”

The rest of the squad ooh’d and ahh’d at this statement and Vince spoke up again, “So that means you’re pretty powerful, right? If you’re getting an L5?”

“Mhmm. It’s the only thing I’ve ever been good at. I’m not great with a gun, I have to train a lot.”

“I can help you,” Vince offered.

Vaughn hesitated, “I guess so. If you don’t mind.”

“’Course not. It’ll be interesting to get to know you better, seeing as we don’t know much about you.”

** Lesson **

“I do know how to hold a gun, thank you. I’m not that incompetent,” Vaughn huffed indignantly at Vince who was attempting to instruct her on how to shoot a pistol.

“You could have fooled me,” he muttered under his breath and Vaughn let out an indignant noise.

“I don’t know why I even agreed to this. Why do I need anything else when I have my biotics?” she rambled.

“Because,” Vince corrected her stance, “you’ll tire yourself out and won’t be any use helping the rest of the squad.”

Vaughn allowed him to guide her through the steps after this, quietly following the orders given to her.

** Friendship **

“Nightmares again?”

Vaughn nodded, and Vince pulled up the blanket so she could slip in next to him.

“Same one as always?”

This got another nod and Vince sighed, allowing the disturbed woman to curl up against him, “You want to talk about it or do you just want to cuddle?”

Vaughn raised an eyebrow up at him and he chuckled quietly, “Yeah, I know. Stupid question.”

This got a quiet laugh from Vaughn, “It’s ‘cos you’re stupid.”

“Rude. I’m allowing you to come in here and steal all my blankets and body heat, and you insult me? The nerve of some people.”

“I hope I’m the only one allowed to steal your blankets, thank you. That’s best friend privileges right there.”

“Don’t worry, you’re special alright.”

** Innocence **

“VINCE!”

Vaughn ran across the battlefield and dropped down to her friend's side, “Oh no. Vince, please, get up.”

Tears began running down her face as he took her hand and gave her a weak smile, “It'll be alright, Vee.”

“You can't leave me. Please. I can't lose you,” she sobbed.

The fallen soldier smiled again and squeezed her hand softly, “Hush. You're strong, you can do this.”

“I'm not ready for you to die.”

“I know, love, I know. But you can do it. The others need you,” Vince reassured the already grieving woman.

“But I need _you_.”

Vaughn threw her arms around him, burying her face into the chest plate of his armour, her crying becoming more hysterical. Vince raised an arm painfully and rested it on her back, “I love you, Vee. But you need to go help the others now.”

Vaughn pulled back, tears staining her face, “I love you too. I'm gonna miss you.”

“I'm gonna miss you too.”

Vaughn stood up shakily, wiping her eyes furiously. With one parting glance at her dying friend, she stumbled back to their squad.

** Nowhere And Nothing **

“When I first joined the Alliance, I was incredibly shy. I wasn't used to dealing with so many people so I avoided them all when I wasn't training with them. This, however, stopped when I was put in a squad with Vince. He wouldn't leave me alone, kept inviting me to eat with him and his friends in the mess, always stopped to talk to me. I think he saw that I was out of my element when it came to making friends. Somehow, he wormed his way past my barriers and we became friends. If it wasn't for him, I'd probably still be the recluse that I was before I signed up. He was one of my closest friends and it was an honour to have him by my side.”

Vaughn stepped away from the podium, eyes firmly on the ground. She didn't want to look at his family and be reminded why she was giving this speech today.

**  Gunshots **

“Ma’am, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

Vaughn rounded on the soldier who had spoken up, “Oh? Do tell me why, Ensign, Enlighten us all.”

The soldier shrank back a little, “Is it really sensible to go charging head first at the enemy? Won’t it get us all killed?”

“It is clear you weren’t listening. First of all, don’t question me. Secondly, I didn’t say that _we_ would be charging at them, I said that _I_ would be. And finally, it won’t get anyone killed because you’ll all be covering me and it takes more than a few flimsy bullets to take me down,” Vaughn explained.

** Game **

“You need to take this more seriously, soldier!” the C.O. yelled at Vaughn who stood rigid in front of him.

“Is this some sort of game to you? Well, newsflash, it’s not! You almost got everyone killed out there! If you weren’t such a talented biotic, you’d be out on your arse,” he continued, barely eliciting a response out of the woman.

This yelling continued for a while until Vaughn spoke up, “I didn’t ask them to follow me.”

Her tone was calm and even as she continued, “I told them to fall back to you guys. I was perfectly capable of doing it on my own. I’d never ask them to risk themselves like that. If you don’t remember, I watched my closest friend die out there. I wouldn’t risk the same happening again.”

She walked away, “I’m well aware how dangerous war is.”


	2. In The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vaughn's journey through the first of the games.  
> Obviously there will be plot spoilers.

** Introduction **

“Lieutenant Vaughn Summers, Alliance Navy, reporting for duty, Commander!”

The young officer saluted Commander Shepard as he walked over to where she had been standing awkwardly by herself, unsure how to introduce herself into the already tight knit group.

“No need to be so formal, Lieutenant,” came Shepard’s chuckled reply and the woman dropped her arm out of the salute.

“Call me Vaughn then, sir. Or even Vee. That’s what my friends call me.”

The Commander raised an eyebrow and Vaughn back peddled, “Not that we’re friends, sir! I didn’t mean…”

Shepard laughed, causing the young Lieutenant to relax and smile in return, “I think you’ll fit in alright… Vee.”

** Gateway **

“First time through a mass relay, huh?” Joker asked the vanguard stood in the cockpit with him.

Vaughn nodded, still staring out into space, “Did a few missions on Mars, some way out on the edge of the galaxy, but nothing too far from home.”

“Well you’d better get used to it. Hey, wait until you see the Citadel!” Joker grinned and Vaughn had to laugh.

“Yeah, I’ve heard things about it. Not sure I’d fit in with all the dignitaries and posh people though. Might have to slum it with you,” she teased the pilot.

“Well I wouldn’t say no to the company, Miss Summers.”

“In your dreams, Joker. And that’s Lieutenant Summers, thanks.”

** Frost **

“It’s cold,” Vaughn complained.

Shepard sent a glare at her from where he was sat next to her in the driver’s seat of the Mako.

“What? I’m making an observation. My armour is built to keep me intact, not keep me warm. Jeez,” she huffed and attempted to wrap her arms around herself a little more in order to stay warm.

“The kid ain’t wrong, Shepard,” Wrex piped up from the gunner’s seat.

“Don’t encourage her. And anyway, you’re from Tuchunka. It’s one huge desert, of course you wouldn’t like the ice planet,” Shepard argued back.

“Why did you bring the both of us? Couldn’t Liara just have stuck around after you dealt with the Rachni and the Matriarch?”

This earned another glare for Vaughn, “Fine, I’ll shut up. I hope you’re happy.”

** Distance **

Vaughn nodded at her companion as she watched one particular young woman in the crowd below them.

“You gonna go say hello?” Kaidan asked.

Vaughn smiled at him, “No.”

“No?”

“I just needed to know she was alive and safe. That's all. She doesn't need me back in her life now,” Vaughn elaborated, smiling fondly as she tracked the young woman’s movements.

“Maybe she'd like to know if you were alive.”

Vaughn shook her head at his words, “I died a long time ago for her. Long before I left to join the Alliance.”

“That's pretty bloody sad, Vee.”

“I know. But look at her. Look how well she's done without me. She's smart-”

“-and pretty.”

“Keep your eyes to yourself, Alenko. You touch my baby sister and I will space you out an airlock.”

** Making History **

“I’d say I didn’t sign up for this shit, but I’m your friend so that’d be a lie,” Vaughn complained, sending a pointed glare in Shepard’s direction.

The engineer laughed and nudged her with his shoulder, “Oh cheer up, Sparks. We’re doing great things here.”

“I got shot over a hundred times today, Shepard,” Vaughn deadpanned, looking over at him.

“You’re a vanguard, it’s what you do! You can’t blame me for your biotic powers and insanity,” Shepard shot back.

“’Insanity?’ You’ve met Wrex, right? He _likes_ getting shot. That’s insanity.”

Shepard smiled and put his arm around her shoulder, giving Vaughn a quick hug, “We’re saving the world here. You get to be a hero. Stop complaining.”

** Rivalry **

“Stop saying shit like that, Williams,” Vaughn growled, pushing the woman in question backwards.

“Or what, Summers? You gonna punch me?” Ashley retorted, pushing Vaughn right back.

The biotic lunged forward, only to be caught and restrained by Garrus, “It’s not worth it, Vee. She isn’t worth it.”

“Aw, how cute! Your little Turian boyfriend is trying to stick up for you,” Ashely taunted, stepping closer to Vaughn. The biotic began to glow dangerously purple, trying to extricate herself from the hold she was in.

“Williams, Summers! What the hell are you doing?” The assembled group turned to look as Commander Shepard stormed towards them.

“The biotic freak tried to attack me, Commander,” Ashley smirked.

“Oh don’t pull that bullshit on Shepard,” Garrus rolled his eyes, releasing Vaughn, who marched off, purple energy crackling around her.

** Irregular Orbit **

“I don’t understand why people are so drawn to her,” Ashley sneered, “she’s just a plain old Alliance soldier, there isn’t anything special about her.”

Kaidan looked at her, a mildly concerned look on his face, “What is going on between you two? Why do you hate her so much?”

“Because, Alenko, there is no reason she should be treated any differently than me. I’m the better soldier, I listen to orders, I do what my commanding officer tells me to. She just charges off, getting everyone into unnecessary danger and everybody likes her!” Ashely scowled.

“Have you ever thought it may be because I’m actually a nice person and not a racist bitch?” came a cheery voice from behind the pair.

Vaughn smiled viciously at Ashley, “I couldn’t help overhear all that, Williams. You weren’t exactly being quiet, you know. Might want to keep your bitching to yourself in case anyone important like, oh I don’t know, the Commander, finds out.”

** Seeing Red **

Vaughn’s fist collided with Ashley’s face, the woman flying backwards into the cargo hold wall.

“What **the fuck** is your problem, Williams?” Vaughn growled, advancing on the soldier, body crackling with violet energy.

“My problem?! You're the one going psycho because I made one little comment about that little Quarian bitch you're so obsessed with?” Ashley spat back, getting to her feet and charging the vanguard, who met her charge with an outstretched fist, sending her back into the wall.

“See?! That's your problem!” Vaughn growled, looming over Ashley’s prone figure, “You don't realise the **bullshit** you're spouting!”

She raised her fist again, but was held back by a hand on her arm. Her head whipped around to see who the culprit was.

“Look, kid, as much as I would **love** to see you kill her, I doubt the boss would like it,” Wrex warned.

He let go of Vaughn, “But don't let that stop you. It'd be great to watch.”

** Knowing How **

“You need to control your emotions, Summers,” Shepard said, watching Vaughn throw things around her room with her biotics.

“You say that like I have a fucking clue how to do that,” Vaughn growled back, another object flying across the room, nearly hitting Shepard in the process.

“You can't lash out at Ashley every time she says something you don't like,” Shepard said, dodging another hurled object.

“I'd be doing everyone a service if I killed her,” the angered biotic grumbled, finally slumping down on the floor, propped against her bed.

“As much as I'd love to agree with you, you need to be professional,” Shepard smiled, joining her on the floor.

** Judgement **

“Shepard? Shep you need to hurry up and choose!” Vaughn urged, unleashing a biotic wave at some nearby Geth.

The Commander snapped out of the reverie he was in to yell back at her, “I can’t, Summers! I just… it’s wrong!”

“Shep, please, we all die here if you don’t. I know you don’t want to but you have to do it,” Vaughn pleaded with the man, taking down some more Geth.

Shepard sighed a long and drawn out sigh, “Kaidan, we’re coming to get you. Ashley… Hold them off.”

There was a moment of radio silence which was broken by Ashley’s voice, “It was an honour, Commander.”

“You too, Ashley… I’m sorry.”

Vaughn hesitated before chiming in, “Give ‘em hell, Williams.”

This got a short bark of a laugh, “Too damn right I will. Keep the boys safe.”

“You know I will.”

** Seeking Solace **

Garrus found her hiding in the room she had requisitioned in Engineering.

Vaughn had disappeared after the Virmire mission had gone to hell and they’d lost Ashley. The Turian had gone looking for her as soon as this happened, knowing exactly where she would hide after something like this.

“Hey there Spark,” he smiled gently at the woman in question as he sat himself down next to her, an arm around her shoulder.

Vaughn huffed, leaning into him, “Hi.”

“Why are you down here hiding?”

The woman sighed, “I could have been nicer to her, Garrus. She probably died thinking I hated her.”

“You did hate her,” Garrus asked, tilting his head a little and smiling down at Vaughn.

She laughed a little, resting her head on his shoulder, “You’re right, I guess. I’m being silly.”

“How about you stop moping and come have a little fun?” Garrus suggested.

Vaughn grinned at him and he paused, “Oh no, I know that look.”

“Oh I bet we could have some _fun_ alright, Vakarian.”

** Illogical **

“I've got this.”

Those were the three words that Vaughn would use every time she came up with some reckless idea that worried all her friends. The biotic was renowned for not thinking through her strategies in battle, something that worried Garrus and Kaidan to no end.

She favoured strength and bravery over carefully planned strategies.

The vanguard was close to being unrivalled on the battlefield in terms of raw brute strength. Introduce an enemy who planned their moves in advance and she struggled. This is what made her a good foot soldier - waves of unthinking enemies wouldn't challenge her and she'd get out with barely a scratch. This was why Shepard tended to keep her in the party - she would take out all the lesser enemies, leaving Shepard and the other member of the party to take out the main threat.

** Future **

“Have you ever thought about what you're gonna do after this business with Saren is over?” Vaughn asked, directing her question at her friends around her.

Tali was first to answer, “I'll go back to the Fleet. My pilgrimage will be over and I'll be officially an adult.”

Wrex shrugged, “Tuchunka needs a proper leader. Guess I'll go do that.”

“I can't exactly go back to C-SEC,” Garrus mused, “Maybe I'll stick around with you.”

He teased Vaughn, playfully nudging the biotic in the side.

“I hope you're not gonna propose, Vakarian. Kaidan has made it clear I'm not allowed to date,” She teased back.

“We'll see. I'm sure I can convince him that I'd make a good son-in-law.”

** Light **

The flash of light from when the Conduit activated was visible from where the Normandy was floating above Ilos. This was their cue to hightail it back to the Citadel and join in the space fight against Sovereign and the rest of the Reapers.

Vaughn was suited up and ready for combat, waiting by the shuttle so she could join the fight on the ground. A few other crew members were stood nearby as Garrus and Tali approached her.

“You take care down there, Sparks,” the Turian sniper told her, causing Vaughn to smile.

“I always do. I’ve gotta get back to you guys!”

Tali hugged the vanguard, “Please try and stay safe. I don’t think I could bare to lose another one of you guys.”

“You know I will, Tali. Couldn’t leave behind my favourite Turian and annoying Quarian sister,” she smiled, hugging Tali back.

** Eternity **

To the rest of the crew of the Normandy, it seemed like time had stopped after Sovereign had crashed down into the Citadel. Nobody had heard from Shepard or Kaidan and Wrex who had gone with him to finally defeat Saren. Needless to say, everybody was worried about their Commander and crew mates.

After the fire fight was over, most of the crew had gone down to the mess hall and sat around together, taking comfort in each other’s’ presence. All except Vaughn and Joker, who were up in the cockpit, Joker on controls and Vaughn anxiously waiting at the radio for any sign of their friends.

“This is Shepard to the Normandy. Joker, you need to come and pick our asses up right now. Sick of all this bureaucratic shit going on.”

The pair in the cockpit whooped and Vaughn ran off to tell the rest of the crew the good news.

** Opportunities **

“The board would like to offer you a promotion, Lieutenant,” Admiral Hackett stated, looking at the vanguard for a response.

Vaughn thought for a moment and shook her head, “I’m going to have to decline, sir. I was thinking about leaving the Navy.”

“Any reason, Lieutenant?”

Vaughn smiled, “As much as I love being part of the Alliance, sir, I don’t fit in. Rules aren’t really my thing and I’d rather just be able to help people without awaiting approval from my bosses.”

The Admiral paused before speaking, worrying Vaughn a little, “I see. Is there anywhere you need taking to before you part ways from the Alliance entirely?”

At this, Vaughn shook her head, “No sir. I’m going with a friend.”

“Good luck, Summers.”

“Thank you, sir.”

** Running Away **

“So that’s it, huh? After everything we’ve been through, you just leave?”

Vaughn turned to face Joker as he hobbled over to her angrily.

“Oh c’mon, Joker. You sound like l just broke up with you,” she joked, an awkward grin on her face. It soon fell away as the pilot continued his angry tirade.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to us! What about Tali? Kaidan? Garrus for God’s sake!” Joker yelled.

Vaughn flinched backwards a little, “Look, I’m sorry but I need to do things my own way. There are too many rules here that you get tangled up in. I want to help people, I really do, but this political bullshit just isn’t my scene.”

She straightened up again, “I’ve already said my goodbyes. I’m leaving now. See ya, Jeff. Try not to get yourself killed.”


	3. Between

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What took place between the end of the first game and the beginning of the second.  
> No spoilers here.

** Change In The Weather **

“Are you Zaeed Massani?” Vaughn asked the aging mercenary sat at the bar.

“It depends who’s asking,” came the gruff reply.

“I was told you were looking for help with a contract,” she explained.

“Can you shoot?” Zaeed asked, finally turning to look at her.

“Yes sir.”

“Got your own gun?”

“Got a few actually.”

“Good. Name?”

Vaughn put out her hand for him to shake, “Vaughn Summers. I’m a biotic too, if that would help at all.”

Zaeed regarded her hand before shaking it briefly, “Biotic? Hmm. What class?”

“Vanguard. Pretty damn good one if I say so myself.”

This got a chuckle out of the man, “We’ll see about that. Welcome aboard, kid.”

** Dark **

“When I was younger, I used to be afraid of the dark,” Vaughn remarked as she peered into the blackness over the edge of the ledge Zaeed wanted her to jump off.

“Oh yeah?” the mercenary questioned.

“Mhmm. I was afraid of the monsters. Thought they’d get me if I went into the darkness,” she elaborated, taking a few steps backwards from the ledge and looking over at Zaeed.

“And now? I think I’m safe saying you aren’t afraid anymore.”

“I stopped being afraid when I realised there were monsters everywhere, not just hidden in the dark,” she continued, backing up a bit more. “Now it's the dark's turn to be afraid.”

Vaughn took off running and leapt over the edge, disappearing into the darkness.

** Shadows **

Vaughn wasn’t wholly comfortable with torture. She understood that it was sometimes necessary in a mercenary’s line of work but that didn’t mean she had to like the act itself.

Zaeed approved of this viewpoint, he called it ‘being pragmatic’, and that she was simply doing what was necessary to complete a job and took no pleasure from it. He told her that she should hold onto this idea as it would stop her from becoming a thug and giving into violence.

When interrogating or torturing people, Zaeed always made her be the ‘bad cop’ (apparently, the ‘unstable biotic, former Alliance soldier’ routine scared people, not that it was much of a routine), insisting that she use it as an opportunity to reinforce this viewpoint.

** Everything For You **

“You need to stop doing things for other people as much, kid,” Zaeed offered up.

Vaughn cocked her head at the statement and he clarified, “All I see is you doing shit for the people we meet on the job. I've never seen you be selfish. It'd be good for you.”

“I've always been like this,” Vaughn shrugged and the old mercenary rolled his eyes, “What? I have. I happen to like helping people. It's a good quality, old man.”

“If you ‘like helping people’ so much, why are you here?”

Vaughn smiled a sly little smile, “Because I'm helping you, Zaeed.”

Zaeed barked a laugh, “Oh you are, are you? And how are you doing that?”

“You're lonely. I keep you company, stop you from turning in to a grumpy old man. Oh wait, you already are,” Vaughn grinned.

** Fork In The Road **

_“Congratulations, Ensign Summers. The Admiralty board wants to offer you a chance to lead your own squad… as a Lieutenant.”_

Vaughn looked out over the destruction visible from the ledge she and Zaeed were sat on.

“So are you glad you left the military?” he asked, cleaning off the sniper rifle he had been using.

Vaughn shrugged, arms and legs splayed out, “I guess. I mean, I got to meet all sorts of people with the Alliance.”

Zaeed flashed her a sly smile, “Like that Turian you like so much?”

She groaned in response and the aging mercenary chuckled, “Can we drop this subject? Forever? Garrus is my friend, like Kaidan or Joker. I've told you this.”

“Oh so you have a crush on them too? I didn't know that,” Zaeed teased.

“Shut it, Massani. You're a mean old man.”

** Advantage **

Vaughn took another punch to the face, turning her head to spit out blood from her split lip.

“Well, are you going to talk yet?”

She laughed at the Batarian doing the interrogation, earning her another blow to the face.

“You think this is funny? Do you enjoy getting knocked around?”

This got another laugh, “What I think is funny is that you think you've got the upper hand here.”

“What do you-”

The Batarian was cut off by a bullet to the head. Vaughn got to her feet, wiping away the blood (belonging to  both her and the now deceased alien), “It went in my mouth, asshole.”

Zaeed shrugged, “You volunteered to be the bait.”


	4. The Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We return to the main game series for the second game.  
> Look, more spoilers.

** Rebirth **

“Hey, Zaeed, I got that stuff you wanted. Poor guy nearly fainted when I mentioned…”

Vaughn trailed off as she rounded the corner to see her new partner stood talking with a supposedly dead Commander Shepard.

“You have **got** to be shitting me,” she mumbled to herself, striding purposefully up to the small group.

Zaeed noticed her approach and began to introduce her, “Commander, this is my partner-“

“He knows who I am, Massani,” Vaughn cut him off. She crossed her arms and faced her former friend, “I should have known you wouldn’t stay dead.”

Shepard chuckled and held out a hand for her to shake, “Nice to see you again, Sparks.”

Vaughn ignored his hand and simply pulled Shepard into a hug, “Nice to see you too, big guy.”

** Nature’s Fury **

The pilot of the attack ship never stood a chance. The moment Vaughn saw Garrus hit the ground after being shot, his fate had been sealed.

It took a split second for Vaughn to biotically charge her way over to the ship.

Her entire body glowed purple as she slammed her fist repeatedly into the cockpit of the ship, shattering the glass. She then pulled the pilot out and threw through the window and into the building, following closely behind.

By the time Shepard and Zaeed had picked off the remaining enemies, the pilot was a bloody mess on the floor.

Vaughn was shaking as she ran back to Garrus and picked him up, yelling to Shepard that she was taking him back to the Normandy.

** Simplicity **

“I take it the Council didn’t listen to you?” Vaughn asked, leaning up against the wall of Shepard’s cabin.

“The Council never listen to me. What’s the point in being a Spectre if I can’t get them to listen to me?” Shepard replied angrily.

“Technically you aren’t a Spectre anymore because you died and started working with Cerberus,” she corrected, earning a glare from the Commander, “what? It’s true. But you’re right, they’re ignoring the real threat here. I hate politics, makes everything way more complicated than it needs to be.”

“Well your idea of a solution is just to hit it hard enough that it goes away,” Shepard responded with a sly grin.

“That was mean, Shep, I’m trying to stick up for you here.”

“But it was also true.”

“In my defence, that usually works.”

** Breaking Away **

“You don't sound too happy to see me. Something bothering you, Kaidan?” Shepard asked, crossing his arms.

“Yeah, something's bothering me. I spent the past two years believing you were dead!” Kaidan shot back at him.

Garrus and Vaughn stood a little behind Shepard, awkwardly intruding on the conversation. The reunion on Horizon was most definitely not going well.

“Thinking you were dead tore me apart. How could you put me through that?”

Shepard visibly flinched at that, “I'm sorry, Kaidan. I was clinically dead. It took two years to bring me back.”

“I can’t believe the reports were right. You really are working with the enemy,” Kaidan shook his head, disgust evident in his voice.

“We’re still your friends, Kaidan, no matter what these reports say,” Vaughn tried to defuse the situation, automatically taking a step towards her oldest friend.

Kaidan ignored her and she stepped back, hurt evident on her face. He spoke to Shepard instead, “You turned your back on everything we believed in. You betrayed the Alliance. You betrayed me.”

Vaughn’s temper flared, and she stepped out in front of Shepard, Garrus’ attempt to hold her back failing miserably, “Look here, Alenko, Shepard is trying to do the right thing. Don’t let your pride get in the way of your friends! We need you!”

Kaidan huffed and turned away, “I need to get back to the Alliance. We’ll see what they make of your story.”

** Lost And Found **

“Shep,” Vaughn called, running up to the Commander, who continued to walk into the elevator. Vaughn managed to squeeze in before the doors closed and the elevator made its way up to the Commander’s cabin.

“What, Summers?” came the clipped response.

“You OK there?” she asked.

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t have to lie to me, Shep. I know what happened with Kaidan threw you a little. Just wanted to check up on you,” Vaughn placed her hand on Shepard’s arm, concern evident on her face as she did so.

“I found my closest friend again after being dead for two years, only to lose him again after five minutes. How do you think I feel?”

Vaughn removed her hand from his arm and stepped back as the doors dinged open. As he left the elevator, she piped up again, “I’ve got your back no matter what, John. You can count on me.”

** Death **

_So this is how it ends. The great Vaughn Summers, taken out by a few Reapers._

Vaughn’s eyes shot open and her body groaned in pain. The room she was in wasn’t familiar to her at all and there was no noise she could use to narrow down her location at all.

The machine next to her began to make a loud beeping noise that made her wince. Stumbling a little, she searched for the power outlet and turned the thing off. This helped to reduce the pain in her left temple to a more bearable level.

As she was about to attempt to leave the room and find out where she was, the door opened and Doctor Chakwas walked in.

“I should have known not to leave you alone,” the doctor admonished and Vaughn felt more at ease now she had someone familiar to her in the room.

“What happened to me?”

“You took a rather nasty blow to the head. I was told you thought taking a horde of husks on by yourself was a good idea,” Chakwas raised an eyebrow at her.

** Boundaries **

“I don’t know why Shepard keeps you around,” Miranda drawled, crossing her arms in the doorway to Vaughn’s makeshift room down in engineering.

Vaughn gave an exasperated sigh, “Did you come down here just to insult me or what? Because I’m tired and sore.”

“You’re average. Just a former Alliance biotic, an unstable biotic at that. You’re a danger to those around you,” Miranda continued.

This got a sarcastic laugh, “Oh so that’s your plan. You want to wind me up.”

Vaughn stood up and grinned at her, “If I’m so dangerous, do you really want to piss me off? I’ve only got so much self-control.”

She bared her teeth menacingly at Miranda, who huffed and left the room, to amused laughter from Vaughn.

** Stirring Of The Wind **

“What Shepard did, going against the Council and pursuing Saren on his own, sacrificing the Council in order to kill Sovereign, caused a lot of uproar. And I was associated with that, we all were. Made it hard to get a job afterwards. S’why I turned to mercenary work. It’s how I met Zaeed,” Vaughn shrugged. She looked over at the older mercenary who was eating alone at another table.

“He didn’t give a shit that I was a war hero, just if I could shoot and get the job done. We became partners. I trust him to watch my back with that sniper rifle while I do my thing and wade into the fight.”

Vaughn got up, leaving Tali and Jacob at the table, and took her tray over to Zaeed’s table, sitting down opposite him and silently tucking into her food. The man nodded imperceptibly at her and the two ate in comfortable silence.

** Forgotten **

“What are you staring at?” Miranda asked, hands on hips.

Vaughn snapped out of it and looked over at the enquiring woman, “I thought I saw someone I knew. Probably wasn’t her. She wouldn’t be on the Citadel.”

“Who is she?” Miranda probed.

Vaughn sighed, “My little sister. She’s somewhere on Earth. I… had to leave her behind.”

Miranda paused with her questioning, a sympathetic look on her face.

“I told her to forget about me, that if anybody asked she didn’t have a sister,” Vaughn continued, “I left her with our aunt and then joined up with the military.”

** Failure **

“Legion, get the door closed. We needed it shut yesterday!” Shepard yelled at the Geth, who was struggling with the hardware.

Vaughn was on the other side of Shepard, firing into the horde of enemies trying to reach them.

“It’s not like we’re getting attacked or anything here!” She joined in the yelling.

The Geth looked up from the circuit panel, “Shepard-Commander, the door refuses to shut.”

“Oh for the love of…” Vaughn dropped her shotgun and raised her arms.

“What are you doing, Summers?” Shepard questioned.

With a large groan, the doors shut under the pressure of Vaughn’s biotics.

“Suck it, bitch!” She cried triumphantly, doing a little victory dance.

** Faith **

“You trust me, right Shepard?” Vaughn asked, glancing over at the Praetorian looming nearby.

“What does that have to do with anything?” replied the confused engineer. He followed her line of sight and shook his head, “Nope. You're not taking that thing on by yourself.”

“I won't be alone. Have a little faith, Shep.”

The vanguard vaulted over the cover they were hiding behind, calling out to Garrus as she did so, “Cover me, Vakarian!”

The cover fire from the Turian sniper distracted the Praetorian long enough for Vaughn to get to the cover closest to it. From there, she launched off the low wall, using biotic power to get above it. Charging up her powers once again, she smashed down into it, using momentum and her natural power to crush it into the ground.

Vaughn emerged, elated, from the wreckage to a stern look from Shepard and Garrus’ amused smile.

“As badass as that was, please don't do it again,” Garrus chuckled as she bounded over to the pair.

** Falling **

“Oh my God,” Vaughn went wide-eyed with realization.

Joker raised an eyebrow at her, “What?”                 

“I’m in love with him,” she explained, a slightly panicked expression on her face.

“With who?”

“Garrus!”

This got an incredulous look from the pilot, “Did it honestly take you this long to realise that?”

Vaughn stopped her panicking, “What do you mean?”

“You seriously didn’t realise? You two have been making puppy eyes at each other since you got back on the Normandy at Omega. You constantly flirt with each other, it’s almost disgusting.”

“Joker, I haven’t been with anyone for five years. This is new. I don’t know how to feel. Do I tell him? What do I do?” The vanguard went back into panic mode, her face turning a deeper shade.

“Why are you asking me? I have less experience than you do. Go ask someone else. I don’t want to deal with this.”

** Health and Healing **

“You need to slow down, Sparks,” Shepard warned over the coms, “remember what the doctor said about your scars.”

Vaughn ignored him and continued to biotically throw the Reaper forces around the battlefield.

“Summers, don't make me order you back to the ship,” came a stern warning as she continued to ignore him.

The vanguard charged across the field. There was a searing pain in her side and she uttered a pained scream, falling down in front of her intended target.

Shepard went to run to the downed soldier, holding back when Garrus called out, “I've got her. Cover me.”

The Turian sniper holstered his weapon and ran to Vaughn, the woman in question sobbing in pain on the ground. She reflexively curled into his arms as Garrus pulled her up.

“You need to stop doing this. C’mon. Let's get you back to the ship,” he urged, all but dragging her back to the Normandy.

** Exploration **

“Ah, Miss Summers, just the human I wanted to speak to,” Mordin exclaimed as Vaughn walked into the medical bay.

The vanguard smiled at him and walked over to the Salarian, “Hey Mordin, what's up?”

“Heard about you and Garrus. Wanted to say congratulations,” he beamed.

Vaughn had to laugh at his enthusiasm, “Thanks. It's nice to have someone.”

“Also wanted to give you advice on physical relationship.”

Vaughn went bright red at this statement, “Uh, excuse me?”

“Human-Turian relations not entirely different to human relations but there are precautions which you should take,” Mordin continued, much to Vaughn’s dismay.

“Oh god, you're actually serious about this.”

“Very serious matter, Miss Summers. Asked EDI to forward vids and articles to you and Garrus.”

Mortified, Vaughn began to back away, “I, uh… thanks. Um, I'm gonna go now.”

“Stay safe, Miss Summers!”

** Only Human **

“You need to take it easy,” Garrus urged gently.

Vaughn shrugged him off with a grunt and went back to pummelling the punching bag.

“You're not invincible. You need breaks,” he tried again.

This once again didn't garner a response from the woman who kept up her training.

“Fine, don't listen to me. I'm only trying to keep you safe, love,” Garrus gave up, leaving Vaughn to take out her frustrations on the training equipment. She watched him leave, an unhappy frown briefly crossing her features before her face became impassive again. She had to keep up her training so she could be the best she could be in order to protect her friends.

** Slow Down **

_Hands. All over her body. Grasping, tearing, and pulling her apart. Cutting deep. Breaking._

Vaughn was catapulted back into the present, her body wracked by sobs as she pulled herself away from Garrus and onto the side of the bed.

“A-are you OK? What’s wrong? Oh Spirits, what did I do?” Garrus rambled, getting up and going to place his arms around Vaughn to soothe the crying woman.

Vaughn flinched away from him, “Just… just don’t touch me right now.”

They sat in silence whilst she calmed herself down, the sobs fading away until she was just shivering.

“Bad memories. Not used to being touched in any way that doesn’t inflict pain. S’not your fault,” Vaughn explained calmly, the panic in her voice still there but not as prevalent.

“It’s OK. We can take it slower if you want,” Garrus reassured her.

The biotic nodded and turned back to him. He opened his arms tentatively and Vaughn pressed herself up against his chest, the sniper rubbing small circles on her back until she fell asleep.

** Love **

“It’s gonna be OK, you know that right?” Vaughn murmured.

Garrus made a semi-amused noise and nuzzled his face further into her neck.

“I mean it. We’ve got each other, right? So it’ll be fine. Shep and the others are there to back us up too. It’ll be fine.”

The Turian made another noise and Vaughn sighed, leaning her head down to rest her cheek on his fringe, “Stop it. This isn’t the end. We’ll survive and… we’ll get married or some shit, OK? I don’t know, I’m rambling now, but I do know that we’ll be OK.”

This caused Garrus to raise his head a little so he could look at her, “Get married? Why, Miss Summers, are you proposing to me?”

“Damn straight I am. I love you, Garrus Vakarian.”

“We’ll get married then. Now let me show you how much this Turian loves his girlfriend.”

** Unsettling Revelations **

“Dear god…”

Above the small group was what could only be described as an abomination – a human Reaper.

Thane was the first to snap out of the horrified trance and get the team back on track, “We need to destroy this.”

Vaughn nodded vigorously, “I agree with you there.”

Screams alerted them to the husks converging on their position and Vaughn took out her shotgun, “You boys focus on that thing, I’ll take the husks. It’ll be easy. Then we can go home and I can bleach my eyes so I forget what this thing looked like.”

She positioned herself near to where the husks would likely come from, one fist swirling with biotic energy, “Let’s do this.”

** Start **

“It's nice to see you in one piece, Shepard,” came the Illusive Man’s voice.

The Commander, Vaughn and Thane turned to look at the source of the voice - a holotransmitter.

“Spare us your bullshit,” Vaughn growled.

Shepard waved at her to stand down and she took a step back.

“What do you want?” Shepard questioned.

The Illusive Man chuckled, annoying Vaughn more, “You should keep her on a leash.”

“Listen up, Cerberus fucker, I am here for Shep, not you, so keep your snide bullshit to yourself,” the offended vanguard growled back.

Shepard gave her a harsh look and she backed off again, going to fume darkly beside Thane.

“You've reached the end of your crusade, Commander. You've beaten the Collectors,” the Illusive Man continued.

Shepard shook his head, “You and I both know that this is just the beginning. The Reapers are coming.”

** A Place To Belong **

“You should go, Summers,” Shepard urged, “Get out of here before the Alliance show up and you get arrested.”

“Like hell I’m gonna leave now. My place is by your side, Shep. If that means getting taken in to Alliance custody then so be it,” Vaughn huffed, crossing her arms. She narrowed her eyes at the Commander, challenging him to disagree with her.

Shepard relented, “Fine. But I warned you. Don’t blame me when you get arrested on charges of betraying the Alliance and working with the enemy.”

“I’m not even with the Alliance anymore. Haven’t been for nearly three years. So there isn’t really any way they can accuse me of being a traitor,” Vaughn grinned back and Shepard rolled his eyes.


	5. Back With The Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But not in the way you would think.  
> No spoilers here, just Vaughn.

** Midnight **

Vaughn had always had trouble sleeping. Correction, she didn’t like sleeping so she forced herself to stay awake. Further correction, she was scared of what she dreamt of so she stayed awake for as long as she could. Everybody has a destructive habit and this was hers.

It wasn’t too bad when she was with the Alliance, Vincent would sit up with her until she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. When she joined the Normandy, she could go sit in the cockpit with Joker and talk with him. Zaeed barely slept so the two would keep each other company when they worked together. Back on the Normandy again, she had her pick of people she could sit and talk with if she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, sleep.

When she was taken into Alliance custody, all of this vanished and Vaughn was forced back to spending nights huddled up alone.

** Shades Of Grey **

“Why did you do it?” the Alliance officer questioned.

Vaughn looked up at them as they continued to stare at her, “What?”

“You, a promising young Lieutenant well on her way to being offered a promotion or maybe even an invitation to the N7 programme, left the Alliance to become a hired thug. You then proceeded to join Cerberus,” the officer elaborated.

Vaughn laughed, “You’ve got a few things wrong. First of all, I **was** offered a promotion, which I turned down. Secondly, I was a mercenary actually, not a thug. I do have morals. And finally, I joined Shepard, not Cerberus, because he was the only one actually doing anything.”

The officer looked over at the security guard stood by the door, “Take her back to her quarters.”

** Shattered **

“I used to have to convince myself that I wasn’t broken, that I was fine and could keep going. That I would make it through the next day. None of it worked. It’s hard to see what I saw and just be fine about it, not let it bother you and everything. I eventually broke down. I cried for hours, tore up my room as well. I was so surprised that I was allowed to stay with the Alliance after that. It was obvious that I couldn’t keep control of my emotions,” Vaughn murmured, staring straight down at the ground, her hands in her lap.

“What changed?”

“I had a friend. He convinced me that being broken didn’t mean I was any less of a soldier than anyone else. He taught me how to turn my anger and sadness into something I could use. I became far more powerful than I had any right to be.”

“Who was this friend?”

Vaughn looked sadly up at the officer, “Just another faceless Alliance soldier. Nobody important to you, anyway.”

“Fine, be that way. What happened to him?”

Vaughn’s gaze returned to the ground, “He became another reason for me to be angry at this world.”

“Could you be more specific?”

The biotic glared up at the officer, “He died, is that what you wanted to hear? The person who taught me to channel my anger is dead.”

Vaughn began to glow violet and the officer took a step back, “Can I leave now? I’m done here.”


	6. Once More Into The Breach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final game,  
> Spoilers galore.  
> Probably contains the most drabbles.

** Challenged **

“James Vega, this is Vaughn Summers, an old friend of mine,” Shepard introduced.

James regarded the former Alliance soldier with an amused expression, “This is Vaughn Summers? She's, I don't know, a bit small to be a vanguard.”

The woman in question bristled a little at the mild insult, “I could kick your ass and not even break a sweat, pretty boy. Try me.”

Shepard laughed a little, “Don't underestimate her, Vega. She's pretty tough.”

“I'll take your word for it until I see her in action, Commander,” James shrugged.

Vaughn glanced at Shepard who gave her a small nod. Next thing James knew, he was thrown into the air and knocked down onto the ground, winded.

“That was just a little taste of what I can do, Lieutenant. If you forget, I will happily show you again,” Vaughn grinned.

** Heartfelt Apology **

“I said things I shouldn’t have said to you,” Vaughn mumbled.

James looked up at her, offering her an amused look, “Care to elaborate?”

“I called you a coward for choosing information over your squad,” the woman clarified, “That was wrong. You aren’t a coward.”

The soldier regarded her for a moment or two before looking back down at the weapons bench, “We’re cool, Summers. Ain’t nothing that hasn’t been said before.”

That appeared to be the end of the conversation but Vaughn lingered. She stepped over to James’ collection of weaponry and examined them. He took another glance at the biotic, “You like what you see?”

“Mhmm. And it’s not just the weapons. Oh, did I say that out loud? Damn,” Vaughn joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

It worked.

“You’re OK, chica. We’re gonna get on just fine.”

** Obsession **

No matter how weird it was, Vaughn liked watching a certain James Vega work out. Not because he was pretty hot and _holy shit those muscles_ , but because he would often ask her to spar with him.

Everyone else was either scared to break her, or scared she’d break them. James, however, was enough of a cocky son of a bitch that he wouldn’t hesitate to offer her the chance to fight.

Vaughn figured he liked a challenge (or really liked seeing her in her workout clothes, she was happy with either reason) and was more than happy to give him one.

This was probably the reason the shuttle bay was one of the places she spent most of her time.

** Dangerous Territory **

James nodded appreciatively at Vaughn as he and Cortez watched her spar with Shepard. The Commander was obviously at a disadvantage but that didn't seem to bother him.

“You should stop doing that so overtly,” Cortez said, catching James checking out the biotic.

“I wouldn't expect you to understand the appeal of an attractive woman, Esteban,” James laughed.

“It's not that, I recognise that she's attractive, but you do realise that she's got a fiancé, right?”

This stumped the man, “What?”

Cortez nodded and continued, “If you'd been listening instead of checking her out, you'd know she's engaged to one of the Commander's old friends.”

The conversation was interrupted by Shepard sailing across the room and hitting the crash mat that had been set up. Vaughn jogged over to him and offered her hand, which he accepted, and pulled him to his feet.

“Well shit, there goes that. And I thought I had a chance,” James lamented.

Vaughn took this opportunity to join them, “Had a chance with what?”

“I was just telling Esteban how you and I would look hot together, babe.”

Vaughn laughed, “Why, Mr Vega, you certainly know how to win over a girl's heart.”

** Vengeance **

“YOU BITCH!”

There was a purple flare of pure biotic energy as Vaughn launched herself at Dr Eva, the android nimbly sidestepping the action and avoiding any harm.

“I WILL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE!”

The vanguard was lost in her fury, the frantic cries from James and Shepard not even reaching her ears as she focussed on taking down the thing that had attacked her friend and left him lying out cold on the floor.

She grabbed the android by the throat and repeatedly smashed her into the ground whilst Shepard and the others tended to Kaidan and got into the shuttle.

“Chica!” James called, “C’mon, we gotta go.”

He grabbed the biotic by the shoulder, forcing her away from the disabled android, picking it up and dragging Vaughn onto the ship.

** Tears **

James woke up to the sound of crying, not a usual occurrence on the Normandy. It was a woman, he could tell that much, and it was obvious that they were trying to be quiet about it.

He looked over at Cortez, who was sound asleep in his bunk next to the shuttle, and then scanned around the rest of the bay.

“Oh chica…” he sighed when he found the source of the crying – Vaughn. The woman was holed up in one corner of the shuttle bay.

James made his way over to her, dropping down and pulling her into his lap so he could hold her, “You gonna tell me what’s wrong?”

Vaughn shook her head, opting instead to bury her face in his chest.

“Well I’m here for you, girl. As long as you don’t ruin my t-shirt with your crying.”

This got a quiet chuckle from her and James grinned, “See? I got you to laugh. It’s all good, babe. Vega’s got you.”

** Dead Wrong **

“So turns out Shepard was right about the Reapers, huh?” Vaughn nudged Kaidan as the pair stared out of the window.

Kaidan chuckled at her and nodded, “Yeah, I guess. I was wrong to not trust him back on Horizon.”

“Maybe you were just so blinded by his ‘rugged handsome features’ and ‘beautifully chiselled jaw’ that you couldn’t think of anything to say,” Vaughn winked, wiggling her eyebrows at the biotic, causing him to splutter indignantly and flush bright red.

“H-hey! Shut up! I was… I was drunk when I told you that. That’s not fair. And you were gushing about Garrus as well!”

“At least I admit that I find him sexy as hell! Unlike you, my bumbling idiot friend.”

“I hate you, Summers.”

“Love you too, Alenko.”

** Patience **

“Give her some time.”

Garrus turned to look at Kaidan, “Hmm?”

“She’s still getting over a lot of things. First it was her dad, then everything that happened with her mom, and then leaving her sister so she could join up with the Alliance,” Kaidan explained. He hesitated before continuing, “She lost someone close to her in the Navy too. I can’t talk about it, but it really messed her up and now she thinks that anyone close to her is cursed to die.”

Garrus sighed and ran a hand over his face, “I just want to help her. I can’t do that if she won’t let me.”

“Trust me, just let her work this out by herself. She’ll come around eventually. I know her better than most people. She loves you, don’t worry about that, you just need to give her a little space to sort herself out.”

“And what if that doesn’t work?”

“I’ll sort her out for you.”

** Pretense **

“Stop pretending like this, Vee. You’re hurting him. He just wants to help you,” Kaidan pleaded.

Vaughn looked at him with tears in her eyes, “I’ll hurt him more if I keep this going, Kai. You know what happened last time. I can’t hurt another person.”

“What happened to Vi-“ Kaidan caught himself before he said the name, “him wasn’t your fault. It was his choice. He chose to push you out of the way. You aren’t cursed. Not everyone who loves you dies. I’m still here. Shepard and Tali are still here. **Garrus** is still here. You’re stronger now, that won’t happen again.”

Vaughn’s shoulders slumped as she gave up, “It would kill me if I lost him. You remember how bad I was after… him. I told you everything about what happened. If something happened to Garrus, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

** 33% **

“Shepard, my barrier isn’t gonna hold forever!” Vaughn yelled as she smashed through yet another husk.

The engineer was busy trying to hack a terminal in order to save some civilisation or something. Vaughn didn’t really care, she was just focussed on keeping the hordes of enemies from away from him.

A bullet whizzed past her ear and she nearly screamed in surprise, “I hate you so much, Vakarian!”

The Turian chuckled in response as he continued to take out the enemies she hadn’t smashed into the ground, “That’s not what you were saying last night, Sunshine.”

“Stop. I don’t need to hear this,” Shepard bemoaned over the com, “Just get over here, OK? I don’t need these kind of visuals.”

** Burning **

“You need to stop looking at those photos, Vee,” Kaidan said, leaning against the doorway to Vaughn’s room.

Vaughn looked up from her omni-tool where pictures of the Reaper attack on London were visible, “It's my home, Kai. And it's in ruins.”

“Earth is my home too, you know,” he said, moving over to sit next to Vaughn.

“Yeah but my sister is down there, Kai. In the middle of all that destruction. Lara is somewhere down there. She's probably **dead,** Kai.”

The vanguard’s stoic facade slipped a little bit and she began to cry, her best friend pulling her into a hug in order to comfort her, “If she's anything like you, she'll be fine. Don't cry, because I'll cry and we don't want that because it'll make everything weird.”

** Complicated **

“So, Kai, what’s up with you and our dear Shepard anyway?” Vaughn asked from her seat next to Garrus.

The aforementioned biotic flushed and stuttered, “What do you mean? Nothing! Nothing’s up with us!”

The rest of the group at the table (James, Garrus and Cortez) gave Kaidan a disbelieving look as Vaughn simply grinned, “You can’t bullshit me, Alenko. I’ve known you for too long.”

“I’m inclined to agree with the lady,” Garrus chuckled, causing Kaidan to flush a little more.

“Yeah, Sunshine’s right. There’s definitely something going on between you and Loco,” James added, as Cortez nodded in agreement.

Kaidan gave in, defeated, and fixed Vaughn with an exhausted look, “It’s complicated, OK? Please drop it.”

“Drop what?” came the voice of the very person they were talking about.

** My Inspiration **

“You know what keeps me going?” Kaidan asked.

“The loud, rough, passionate sex you and Shepard frequently have?” Vaughn interjected, causing James and Cortez to snigger.

“It was rhetorical,” Kaidan rolled his eyes.

“Ah, but you didn’t deny it,” Vaughn interrupted again.

“Shut up and let me finish-“

“Is that what Shepard says to you?”

“I swear to God-“

“Yeah you probably do that too.”

“Will you please-“

“I bet he appreciates the politeness.”

“Vee, I will end you-“

“Nah, I’ve got Garrus for that.”

** Online **

“What is that you’re looking at there, Jeff?” Vaughn asked, peeking over the pilot’s shoulder.

Joker quickly shut down the terminal, arousing Vaughn’s suspicions, “Uh, nothing. Nothing at all!”

“Ooh, was it something inappropriate? Are you looking at porn, Joker? You can tell me. I won’t tell EDI,” she grinned widely.

“What is it with you and your perverted mind?” Joker gave her a disgusted look.

“Just tell me. Pretty please?”

“What are you begging Joker for?” came Liara’s voice from behind them and the pair turned to look at the Asari scientist.

“Jeff was looking at something but wouldn’t show me so I assumed it was porn,” Vaughn summed up with a shrug.

“I was looking for a present for EDI, OK?” Joker gave in, “I didn’t want you to see and tell her…”

“Aw you’re so cute!” Vaughn grinned.

“I agree. That is very sweet of you, Jeff,” Liara smiled.

** Excuses **

“Commander Shepard, saviour of the universe, Reaper killer, etc etc,” Vaughn began, raising a critical eyebrow at the man in question, “one would assume that he has enough money to buy dancing lessons.”

Kaidan, Cortez and James were sat around on the couches in Shepard’s new apartment, watching the Commander in question do what he wrongly called ‘dancing’.

“I don’t know… It’s kind of cute,” Kaidan offered, a small smile on his face.

“’cute’? That’s not what I’d call it,” Cortez laughed, “’cute’ is the look on Garrus’ face whenever little Spark over here whispers naughty things to him when she thinks nobody’s watching.”

“You shut your mouth, Steve! I will fight you! That isn’t true,” Vaughn protested, whining a little at the shuttle pilot.

James patted her arm condescendingly, “It’s OK, chica. We’re not judging you.”

** Party **

“You go, chica!”

Vaughn sent a wink in Vega’s direction as she spun around, dancing to the music Glyph was currently playing.

“Who knew soldier girl could dance like that?”

Vaughn flipped off Jack, paying the other biotic little heed. She was having fun in her own little world, just dancing and having fun.

“It’s kind of enthralling.”

That was Tali. Vaughn gave the Quarian a little grin and a bow, causing her to laugh in response.

“Hell yeah, you show them the moves, Sparks!”

Vaughn blew Cortez a kiss as she finished up dancing. She’d had quite a bit to drink and she was enjoying herself. It wasn’t often that they all got to hang out and just relax so she was taking full advantage of it.

“Well that was certainly a show,” came Garrus’ voice from behind her and she spun to face him, “You can do that again for me any time.”

** Unbreakable **

“You guys are my family, you know that?”

Kaidan groaned, “Not this again. You’ve not even had that much to drink.”

Vaughn shushed him by putting her entire hand over his face, “Hush now, Alenko. I’m feeling emotional because beer.”

Garrus chuckled and put an arm around her, “I think somebody needs to sleep now. Or lay off the alcohol.”

“I am not nearly drunk enough yet,” Vaughn admonished him, “I just wanted to let you guys know you’re my family and I love you and… oh dear. I feel kind of sick.”

“Lay off the alcohol, Sunshine!” James called after her as she made a dash to the nearest bathroom.

** Answers **

Vaughn lent against the railing next to Zaeed, “Are you being a grumpy old man again?”

He huffed, “Not all of us enjoy parties, kid.”

“Pfft, stop making up excuses. You just don't want to admit that you can't keep up with me.”

“What are you doing up here with me, then? If I'm being a grumpy old man?”

Vaughn shrugged her shoulders, “Thought I'd come see how you are. Can't let my favourite old man get lonely, can I?”

“Fine, but you have to stay quiet. The music's loud enough to give me a headache, not even factoring in your constant questions,” Zaeed relented and Vaughn grinned in victory.

** Everyday Magic **

“I don’t know how you do it, Alenko,” Vaughn laughed, “you take the most basic ingredients and somehow turn it into something edible.”

“It would help if Shepard actually kept some proper food in his apartment,” Kaidan replied pointedly, giving the man in question a mock glare.

Shepard held up his hands in defense, “Hey, I’m not here that often. There’s no point keeping food in.”

“Keep eating takeout and you’ll get fat,” Vaughn warned, piling the dishes up in the sink.

“James eats takeout all the time and he isn’t fat,” Shepard shot back, crossing his arms as he followed Vaughn into the kitchen.

“That’s because I’m all muscle, Commander,” Vega called from the living area of the apartment.

“And for that I am grateful,” Vaughn joked back.

** Memories **

“It’s what he would have wanted, Sparks,” Cortez urged gently.

Vaughn nodded, placing the photo frame down under the memorial wall, “I know. It’s just hard to let go.”

“I’m well aware of that, trust me. I’m here for you, kid. We all are,” Cortez reassured her.

Vaughn laughed a little, “What is it with everyone calling me ‘kid’? I’m not ten.”

“Yeah but you’re like the crew’s little sister. It’s a term of endearment, shut up and let us love you.”

“Huh,” she considered, “I’m not used to being the little sister. I usually have to take charge and take care of everyone.”

“Get used to it. It’s not changing any time soon. Plus, you’re super short too.”

“Hey!”

** Separation **

Vaughn smiled a little as she watched Kaidan and the Commander interact. She was incredibly happy that the two of them were getting on so well, despite what happened on the Citadel and Shepard's run with Cerberus.

“What you looking at there, chica?” James asked, dropping down on the sofa next to her.

“Those two. They're good together,” she indicated at the pair stood by the window.

James laughed, his arm resting on the back of the sofa behind Vaughn’s head, “I agree. Alenko makes the Commander happy. They've got history too, a bond. They trust each other a hell of a lot.”

Vaughn nodded, “Yeah. They deserve to be happy.”

“So do you.”

“Wait what?” Vaughn furrowed her eyebrows at the statement.

“What I mean is, stop hanging around here with me and go find that Turian of yours and get him to have a little fun,” James clarified.

“Garrus and I certainly have a lot of fun,” Vaughn wiggled her eyebrows.

“Hey, look, I have nothing against imagining you naked, but Garrus? Don't need that image, chica.”

** Possession **

“ **Turn back**.”

Vaughn collapsed onto her hands and knees, coughing loudly and painfully. Shepard went to run to her side but she waved him off. Her body wasn’t entirely her own and she didn’t want to accidentally hurt him.

“ **The darkness cannot be breached. You must turn back**.”

Vaughn retched again as the creature spoke using her. Javik was waiting impatiently a few paces ahead of them, “Come on. We need to catch up to him.”

Vaughn struggled to her feet, clutching at her head, “I’ll catch up. I need a moment.”

Shepard nodded and ran off ahead with Javik to find the doctor they had been persuing. Vaughn lent up against the wall and waited for the pain to pass.

** Never Again **

Vaughn was the first to grab Shepard and hug him when he got on board the Normandy, “Can you never do that again, please? You worried us all.”

As if on cue, Kaidan pushed past them without a word and disappeared into the elevator.

“You go talk to him. Now,” Vaughn told Shepard, who nodded and took off after the biotic.

The woman sighed, and went to lean backwards against the wall, only to end up leaning on a certain Turian instead, who proceeded to wrap his arms around her waist and nuzzle into her neck.

“Stop it, you,” Vaughn chuckled, “I’m mad at you, too.”

“What for?” Garrus murmured into her neck.

“Letting Shepard do that! Kaidan was worried sick when Shep wasn’t responding.”

“What, you weren’t worried about me?” Garrus feigned hurt.

“I’ll let you know how worried I was after I’ve dealt with Kai and Shep.”

“Oh I like the sound of that.”

“Pervert.”

“Says you.”

** Mist **

“What was it like?” James asked.

Vaughn cocked her head at him in a questioning fashion, “What was what like?”

“The Leviathan. It was in your head, babe.”

Vaughn gave him a sharp look but answered anyway, “The only way I could describe it would be like standing behind a fog bank. Like I could hear you guys, but I couldn't see you or do anything about it.”

She shook her head a little, indicating she didn't want to continue the conversation.

“I'm just glad I didn't have to shoot you, chica. That would have sucked,” James joked and Vaughn rolled her eyes.

“Even while being controlled by a creepy space octopus, I'd still kick your ass.”

** Heart Song **

Vaughn had never thought about what her wedding day would be like. She had always been too busy doing things to put any thought towards it. She also never believed that anyone would ever want to marry an unstable biotic whose life was devoted to her job and friends. She had thought that she’d probably get married later in life, after she had done her 25 years in the military and had nothing better to do. She’d also assumed she’d just marry some other military personnel with the same mind set.

She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Mackenzie Vaughn Summers was getting married at the age of 29 to a former C-SEC Turian who had been her closest friend for the past 3 years. Garrus was everything she could have hoped for in a potential husband and, although she would never admit it, she adored him with every fibre of her being. This man had been there for her through some of the hardest times of her life. They’d beaten monsters together, fought alongside each other, survived against all odds.

She could safely say that she had found her soulmate.

** Forever And A Day **

“So, Mrs Vakarian, what do we do now?” Garrus grinned down at Vaughn, the woman cuddled up against his chest as they sat in the Observation Lounge.

“I don’t know, Mr Vakarian, getting married really tires a girl out,” she replied, smiling gently at up at him.

“Mmm,” Garrus agreed, nuzzling his face into her hair, “does that call for going to bed then, love?”

Vaughn elbowed him in the chest and he grumbled at the action, “I hope you’re not trying to suggest things, Vakarian. I said I’m already tired, not that I want to be more tired!”

“I just can’t help myself, what with a beautiful woman like you as my wife,” Garrus mumbled into her neck.

James got up from his seat in the other corner of the room, “Alright, I’m done here. Excuse me whilst I go throw up and enjoy being a bachelor.”

** Accuracy **

“They’re totally sleeping together,” Vaughn commented in an off-hand manner.

Joker almost choked on his drink, “Excuse me?”

“The Commander and Kai, doing the frick frack.”

“What now?”

“Oh come on, Joker, the frick frack. Bedroom rodeo, doing the dirty deed, bringing an al dente noodle to the spaghetti house. Sex, Joker, they’re having sex,” Vaughn rolled her eyes.

“No way. I don’t believe you,” Joker shook his head, “Shepard is not like that.”

“You used to say that about me, Jeff, and now I’m married to a Turian whom I share a bed with _every night_.”

“Please, stop, I don’t need those visuals.”

“Imagine it, Joker, imagine.”

“Stop it. You’re wrong, anyway.”

“Whatever makes you sleep at night.”

** Colours **

“Alright everyone, favourite colours?” Cortez offered.

The small group pondered the question before answering in turn.

“Blue. It represents all my favourite men. You know - Kaidan, James, Joker, Steve, oh yeah and Garrus,” Vaughn offered with a wink in the Turian’s direction.

“I'd have to say violet,” James grinned, nudging Vaughn who elbowed him back, rolling her eyes, “it's the colour my chica here goes when she gets all loco.”

Vaughn pushed him away playfully, “Shut up. My husband is right over there. He'll fight you.”

“No I won't. He'd win,” Garrus laughed and Vaughn gasped in mock hurt, “I mean, of course I'll defend your honour, love.”

“Damn right you will, Vakarian. I'd fight you if you didn't,” Vaughn threatened.

“Now there's a scary prospect.”

** Twilight **

“The calm before the storm…” Vaughn muttered, staring out at the ruins of the city before her.

“Talking to yourself again?”

Vaughn jumped and spun around, causing Zaeed to laugh, “Calm down, kid, it’s just me.”

The biotic glared at him before turning back to the vista she had been observing, “I just needed a bit of quiet time to myself, but you’ve ruined that now, old man.”

“You know you’re never gonna get rid of me, right? The only way that’s going to happen is if I die, and I ain’t planning on that happening any time soon.”

“Of course. We’re partners,” Vaughn smiled softly at the old mercenary who gave her a small smile back.

“Partners. ‘Til the end, kid.”

** Out Of Time **

“Everyone, go!” Vaughn yelled, sliding to a halt and pivoting 180 degrees to face the enemies pursuing them, “Get Shepard to the Citadel! I'll hold these guys off and join up with you later.”

She holstered her shotgun and saluted the Commander, “Been an honour, Shepard.”

Shepard shook his head, “You're acting like I'll never see you again, Vee.”

“Time's running short, Shep. You gotta save the day.”

Garrus and Kaidan who were with them wore looks of confusion.

“You're just gonna stand here and wait for them to attack you?” Kaidan asked, stepping towards her.

Vaughn nodded, “That's the plan.”

“You're going to get killed, Sparks,” Garrus stated, walking up to her.

“I'll be fine,” Vaughn kissed him on the cheek, “Get Shep where he needs to be. I'll find you guys later.”

The three men shared a look. Garrus hugged his wife, nuzzling the top of her head, “Stay safe.” He backed off to wait for the others.

Kaidan also hugged Vaughn, smiling sadly at her.

Shepard was the last to say goodbye, “Vaughn. You stay safe.”

“Look after my boys, John. And save the day like you always do.”

**  Troubling Thoughts **

It occurred to Vaughn that she may not make it off Earth alive.

There were vast amounts of Reaper troops charging them and wiping out their soldiers, and the forces Shepard had amassed were not going to hold forever.

What was worse was that she was now alone. Shepard had taken Garrus and Kaidan and gone on ahead to the Citadel whilst she stayed behind to guard a choke point to buy them time. It was very plausible that she would die there and become just another faceless dead Alliance soldier. It was incredibly likely that she wouldn’t see any of her friends alive again.

A bullet from a Marauder caught her in the stomach, her armour taking most of the blow, her barrier decreasing significantly, bringing her out of the morbid mind-set and back to the present.

** Exhaustion **

The Reapers were unrelenting.

Vaughn felt like she had been fighting for hours, shooting until her bullets ran out and she had to resort to her biotics.

Old scars had opened up under the strain and she was aware of the blood dribbling down the left side of her face. In a way, it kept her focussed on her current surroundings. She needed to keep the Reaper forces away from where Shepard had been heading for as long as she could, even if it killed her.

The constant waves of enemy forces were beginning to take their toll though, and she could feel herself getting worn out, both physically and psychologically. But she knew she had to give Shepard a chance to save them all. And, for that, she’d keep on fighting for as long as was necessary.

** Cold Embrace **

Vaughn had been unconscious for hours when the Alliance clean-up crew found her lying among the rubble of London and the fallen Reaper forces.

At first, they had assumed the soldier was dead. That wasn’t a hard conclusion to make, with the blood covering her body and mass of wounds she had accumulated in her final stand. It was only when they had recovered her body and brought it on board the shuttle did she jolt awake with something akin to a pained scream.

The soldiers struggled to remove the mangled armour from the vanguard in order to find the wounds and apply medi-gel to hold her over until she could be seen by a doctor.


	7. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened after the war.

** Perfection **

It took humanity a long time to rebuild Earth to even a fraction of what it had been.

Vaughn and many other former, and current, members of the Alliance Navy (including Kaidan, James and Cortez) helped with the process. Vaughn mainly handled the remaining Reaper forces, leading and organising teams to wipe them out. This was not a huge task, as most of them had been destroyed when Shepard destroyed the Reapers.

Garrus was back on Palaven for a while, assisting the shattered Turian hierarchy repair and rebuild their planet. The now married pair didn’t get to spend as much time as they would like together, with Garrus being hailed as a military hero and Vaughn as the newest human Spectre (something she was incredibly proud of, and it meant she still got to work alongside Kaidan and Shepard).

The time they did get to spend together, however, was filled with lots of the happiest moments Vaughn had ever had. It wasn’t perfect, what with all the space travel they had to do to see each other, but she wouldn’t change anything.

** Bitter Silence **

“Look, I’m sorry-“ Garrus tried to break the silence.

Vaughn glared at him and he flinched, “Just shut up, OK? You’ve done enough.”

The pair returned to their previously awkward state, Vaughn practically vibrating with negative energy. She was having trouble containing the emotions she was feeling. She’d definitely become better at controlling her anger but that only lasted up to a certain point.

“I’m just having trouble understanding why your father apparently has never heard anything about me. How he appears to not know that you’re **married** and that I’m your **wife**. That he tried to set you up on a **date** whilst I was there,” Vaughn managed to say through grit teeth, fists clenched.

Garrus had the decency to look ashamed, “I tried to tell him. He didn’t want to hear it. I even asked my sister to talk to him. I’m sorry that that happened, you shouldn’t have had to go through that.”

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have.”

** Summer Haze **

“Don’t get used to this weather,” Vaughn warned her husband as they sat on the porch of their borrowed cabin.

“I know, you’ve reminded me a thousand times how temperamental the English weather can be,” Garrus chuckled.

Vaughn sighed happily, laying back against the wooden decking, “I almost don’t want to leave. Going back to working for the Council on the Citadel? It’s gonna be so clinical and ugh.”

“If someone,” Garrus poked her in the side, causing her to giggle a little, “hadn’t accepted the role of Council Spectre then we could have stayed here.”

“Shut up, Vakarian. Just let me enjoy my incredibly delayed honeymoon.”

** Umbrella **

Vaughn peered out at the pouring rain from the porch, safe from the downpour that had started out of nowhere.

“What are you doing? You’re letting the cold in,” Garrus complained from the doorway to the small cabin.

“I haven’t seen rain in a while. Well, normal rain. We’ve had acid rain, literal acid, and molten metal, but never actual water,” Vaughn shrugged, continuing to watch the rain pour down.

She heard Garrus sigh and go back inside the cabin.

The rain was rather soothing. She hadn’t realised that she’d been missing the English weather this much. She’d been away for a long time.

“You’re going to freeze,” Garrus murmured in her ear as he returned and wrapped her in his arms.

“Nah, I’ve got my own personal Turian blanket,” Vaughn grinned back.

** A Moment In Time **

There was a picture of Vaughn’s friends from the Normandy framed on the wall of their apartment on the newly rebuilt Citadel. She'd suggested having it there and Garrus had quickly agreed with her.

It was the photo taken by Glyph during the party Shepard had thrown at Anderson’s old apartment.

Vaughn liked it for multiple reasons.

The first was that her friends all looked stress free and happy, despite the war that they had all been enduring at the time.

The second was that you could easily see how Shepard and Kaidan were looking at each other (something she had vowed to tease them about forever).

The final reason was how happy she looked in general. It was a reminder of how you can be happy despite everything going on around you.

Oh, and there was also that she liked how Garrus was looking at her in the photo.

** Breakfast **

The artificial sunlight woke Vaughn up, streaming in through the tiny gap between the curtains and hitting her face. She reached out for Garrus, unsurprised when she found his half of the bed empty.

Vaughn dragged herself out of bed, throwing on a robe and tying up her hair. As she opened the bedroom door the smell of food hit her and her stomach rumbled in anticipation.

She found Garrus in the kitchen and seated herself at the counter, “Mornin’.”

“Good morning to you too. I see you finally emerged from bed,” Garrus teased.

Vaughn gave him a half-hearted glare, “Oh hush. It's my day off. I can sleep if I want to.”

“I thought you said you had plans for us today?” Garrus countered.

“I do but they can wait until I've eaten and woken up.”

“Never change, love.”

** Echoes **

“She looks just like you,” Garrus marvelled, holding the small infant in his arms.

“Of course she does. She’s hardly going to look like you, is she?” Vaughn replied, a warm smile on her face.

“Harsh, but I get your point,” Garrus handed her back the baby, who happily snuggled into her mother’s arms.

“ _Las estrellas en el cielo son tan hermosos como usted_ ,” Vaughn murmured to her new-born daughter, eyes lighting up as the baby giggled.

“Is that… Spanish? I didn’t know you spoke Spanish.”

“Just a little. A friend of mine used to say this to me.”

“You gonna tell me what it means?”

“Ask James. He’ll translate for you.”

“OK, now I’m worried.”

** Picking Up The Pieces **

“Excuse me, are you Lieutenant Vaughn Summers?”

Vaughn looked up at the man addressing her, ”Former Lieutenant, but yeah, that’s me. How can I help you?”

“I was told you knew my brother,” the man replied.

“I know a lot of people, you’ll have to elaborate.”

“I’m Richard Lorenz. You served with him.”

Vaughn paused, a look of realisation passing over her face, “Vince’s younger brother, right? I should have known. You look exactly like him.”

“Yeah, he uh, he spoke highly of you.”

“Look, if you ever need anything, you just let me know. I owe him a lot. Go to the Council, or C-SEC, and tell them that Spectre Vaughn Vakarian sent you.”

** Reflection **

Her hair is shorter now, Vaughn muses. It’s no longer able to fit up in its old ponytail, needing to be put into a short braid and pinned up instead. Her eyes are also different – years of strenuous biotic usage have turned her green eyes a light hue of purple. She’s thinner, despite having acquired more muscle mass, something she can attribute to working off all the fat her body had acquired before she joined the Alliance.

She gingerly touches the scars on her face (two small scratches on her right cheek and one over her left brow). These wounds had never healed properly because she had kept abusing her powers, despite Karin’s warnings. Despite not being able to see them, Vaughn can visualise the stretch marks on her thighs and abdomen. She’s also painfully aware of the scars littering her body under her clothes, especially the one spanning her lower stomach.

But that one was worth it. That one had given her something worthwhile.

** The True You **

Garrus smiled at the sight of Vaughn with their daughter, Laurencia. Vaughn had really taken to being a mother, she was determined not to let her child grow up as she did. The two were very similar and never failed to make Garrus chuckle with their antics.

“Alright, kiddo, go get ready for bed then come back out here and say goodnight to the old man,” Vaughn ushered the six year old out the room with a smile.

“You’re so mean to me, you know that? I don’t know why I put up with you,” Garrus said with mock hurt.

Vaughn playfully swatted at his arm as she snuggled up next to him, “I’ll just take Laurie and go live with James then, since you don’t love me.”

“Do we really get to go live with Uncle Vega?”

The pair on the sofa turned to look at their young daughter stood in the doorway.

“So neither of my girls love me anymore? Great, I guess I’ll just leave,” Garrus got up to pretend to leave but ended up with a six year old clinging to his leg, whining. He picked her up, “Let’s get you to bed, love.”

Vaughn watched with a fond smile as her husband tucked their child into bed. It definitely didn’t get better than this.

** Endings **

Not all stories have a happy ending, only the lucky ones. Vaughn was one of the lucky ones. She had survived certain death more times than anyone had the right to. She’d made many good friends along the way. She’d had promotions, become a Spectre. She had even managed to fall in love and get married. She had been blessed with a daughter who was the spitting image of her.

Vaughn may not have had the best start in life, or even the best journey to get her to where she was today, but it had made her who she was. She would never forget those that she had lost, no matter how long ago they had been lost, but she would never let them drag her down like she had in the past. With the Reapers gone, she had her entire life to look forward to. But this is as far as we follow her.

_“There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.” – Frank Herbert._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of this was posted on the same day, but I've been working on this for three months now. It's been a journey, a very angsty journey.  
> My next work is going to be some stuff to do with Fallout: New Vegas, but I've decided to open up submissions.  
> My tumblr is http://wishhumanswerepancakes.tumblr.com/ go ask me for works there.  
> Until next time.

**Author's Note:**

> Any feedback is welcomed.


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